I woke up this morning with a remarkable amount of pain in my knee.  This should be no surprise, right?  In three days I am getting this knee joint surgically replaced because of the pain.  As I limped across the room, though, I realized that this is how I woke up for many days over the last few months and in a strange way I got used to this pain as part of my life.  I did less errands, less walks up and down the stairs at home, more avoiding doing things I used to do.  So it hit me, that very soon, I will be saying goodbye to this pain.  I almost don’t remember what it was like to be unrestricted in my activity and it is amazing how insidious pain is as it creeps into your daily routine and attaches like bamboo roots to your brain.  Fortunately for me, daily Alleve was all I really needed to take the edge off the pain but I do know that other people need stronger medications.  I am sure that their dependence on these happened slowly over time and not all had a surgical solution.  While I am not looking forward to the pain after the surgery, I am looking forward to no more pain after I heal.